Saturday, 14 January 2012

Pretty Passion Fine Fashion #6

Pretty Passion. It is acutely rare that one uncovers a piece of high quality writing that is on a subject that they are interested in and that they can understand. However, this is what I found when reading the introduction the Vogue Covers book which was one of my favourite Christmas presents. I enjoy fashion and history and I buy British Vogue every month so as you can imagine, this was the ideal gift for me. The Introduction, by Dodie Kazanjian, starts off by saying "Vogue covers have been talking to us for 120 years, and the conversation has seldom failed to reveal interesting things about who we are and who we want to be." I don' t think anyone could pinpoint the way I feel about the magazine better than Kazanjian did in that opening sentence. Vogue definitely symbolises what I want to be but when I think about it, it also is a part of who I am. The introduction says how when Vogue first came out in the late 19th Century it had a very niche market for haughty upper class women. However, nowadays it is much more relaxed and, although the luxury is still there, it is just as much marketed at dreamy teenagers as it is at millionaire fashionistas.

Coat, Select. Top and Belt, Primark. Leggings, Topshop.

Fine Fashion. A couple of weeks ago I was out shopping locally when I went into Topshop to have a look in the sales. They are fabulous there by the way and nearly every item is over half price. I spotted a dalmatian coat (yes, that pun was intended!) I had spotted it in the past and was unsure if I would end up looking more like Cruella De Vil than the sophisticated young lady that it was made for. In the end I left it as, although it was in the sale, I did not want to fork out much money for it and (having already bought three coats in the last two months) I did not need it. In had just convinced myself that I did not need a dalmatian print coat and life would go on as usual without one, I popped into Select only to immediately see a long long line of dalmatian print coats for only £20. I think everyone in the shop thought I was a crazy person as I was on my own yet I sort of ran towards the coat, hastily put it on and ran to the mirror. I had left all my money at home but luckily my mum (accompanied by my little brother) soon came to find me and I begged her to buy then let me pay her back. And I think this ecstatic "begging" was louder than I had thought because my brother started to laugh at me and I felt like everyone was looking at me amusingly. Oh well, this story has a happy ending. This is me wearing it last weekend just before a long revision session for Chemistry and Physics at my friend's house.